Heartshots
by porcelaindakota
Summary: 50 ZukoSuki oneshots. [three: Love is, in fact, everything it's cracked up to be. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.]
1. 12: Keeping Faith

**12.**_ Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to._

Ever since he was fourteen, ever since the fateful day he refused to duel his father and was scarred in return, Zuko has refused to be an optimist. As he lay on the stone floor of the arena, bleeding from his left eye, salty tears pouring from the other, he realized that he was no longer a child, could no longer hide underneath the wings of his mother or uncle, and that for adults, the world was a very cruel and unforgiving place. The land of chivalry and bravery that he had been taught to believe in shattered.

And so Zuko resolved to enter into his own new world, that of manhood, armed with this new knowledge. He resolved to never let himself be taken by surprise again by the cold reality of the world. He was no longer a boy, no longer kept locked in the prison of childhood; he knew the truth, and protected himself from the rest of the world with angry words and an iron shell.

He wastes three years of his life in this manner.

Then, finally, when he is seventeen, the iron begins to tremble and crack, until it finally breaks apart, falling away from him on the fault lines. All it takes is a girl with two fans, the spirit of a warrior, and the heart of a lover.

It happens in a cave, tucked away from the rest of the world between two mountains, mist and summer rain coming down softly.

When Suki touches his face, her fingers are soft on his skin. "I know what you've been through," she whispers. "I know how much you've been hurt." He shuts his eyes, his breath suddenly constricted, as her hand moves up, just gracing the skin of his scar. "But that's no reason to give up."

"The world is an uncaring place," he replies, his voice hoarse, taking her wrist and settling it in her lap. "How else could a father disfigure a son? How else could a country, a _family_ turn on its own?"

Pain sparkles in her eyes, quiet in the mist. "You've seen the worst of it," she says. "You've been surrounded by nothing but the worst the world has to offer." She takes his hand in both of hers. "You haven't been given a chance to see all the hope, all the _love _there can be."

Suki watches him for a moment, golden eyes so dim and defenseless she wants to cry. When the iron comes off, he's still a hurt little boy, aching for affection, any kind of love, anything to show that he's wanted. He tried to force himself to grow up at fourteen, to convince himself that there was nothing left in the world for him. She sees this all looking into his eyes, as surely as she was looking into his heart.

"I can show you," Suki whispers again, drawn to him by this revelation, her voice nearly lost underneath their breathing. She moves closer, her hand returning to the scar. "I can show you what you've been missing." Zuko's eyes go half-lidded, and they both know what's coming next, as he closes the gap between them. Her lips are warm on his, and Zuko falls into the kiss.

He's suddenly aware of the fact that, despite the façade he put up for three years, he's undeniably _human. _With Suki's arms around him, he knows all of the tiny sensations: the heat of their skin, pressed together, the cool mountain air around them, the texture of her lips. And he can feel the bruises in his heart, from all those years ago, aching still, but less significant, far less compared to these other, new feelings.

When they gradually break apart, seconds or moments or days later, Zuko realizes that yes, the parts of the world he has seen have been cruel and unforgiving to him.

Then he cups her chin, tilts her face so that it catches the light, glowing with love and the aftermath of the kiss, and he realizes that truly, he has seen little of the world, that there is still so much left to experience…

* * *

Well, I got the first one up! These are for the fiftylovequotes challenge: I have to write fifty oneshots based on fifty 'lovequotes'. This was prompt #12, the exact quote is at the beginning of the story. Spread the Zuki love! 

Please review! Reviews make the author happy, and a happy author updates more! (That, and your concrit and ideas help me on the rest of the chapters!)

-sugarland


	2. 46: Something Called Fate

**46.**_ Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was choice, but falling in love with you was completely out of my control._

Suki is sprinting towards the crimson figure on the war rhinoceros, the rush of battle pounding in her heart and her head, before she leaps into the air, preparing a dizzying mid-air kick, a flying whir of green and gold. Then the soldier spins around, his mount following suit, and in the second before she makes contact with the massive scaly tail, Suki's eyes are locked on his face, the _young _face, hidden and scarred beneath his helmet.

Suki still remembers how she lay on the ground, panting and groping blindly for her fans after being hit, and in all the chaos still managing to hear the soldier speak: "Nice try, Avatar! But these little girls can't save you." She remembers the burst of adrenaline she felt as she scooped up her fans and leapt to her feet.

_I'm not a little girl, _she remembers thinking, steadying herself and preparing for a second charge.

* * *

The second time they meet is exactly three days and 11 hours after Zuko has rejoined his sister and taken Ba Sing Se. 

Azula wouldn't let him see Iroh, but she had consented to let Ty Lee lead him through the 'normal' prison quarters. He only went because he had, for once, thought ahead and for once had a plan, and he knew that he would need an accomplice.

He wouldn't have recognized her at all without her facepaint if it were not for Ty Lee (Zuko still wonders why, of all people, Azula sent _Ty Lee _to watch him, but he knows not to look a gift horse in the mouth). They were walking between the cells, Ty Lee filling the dead air with insipid chatter and Zuko simply nodding politely and trying to look interested, when she paused suddenly at a particular cell.

"We caught this one," she says proudly, and giggles, her memory sparking. "Azula called her one of 'the Avatar's fan girls'."

"Really?" Zuko raises his eyebrows at the mention of the Avatar: _perfect._

"Yeah! They were with the Avatar's bison, but we fought them and took their clothes. That was how we got into Ba Sing Se!"

He pretends to listen and keeps walking with her, making sure not to look back at the thin form in the prison cell, but his mind is already racing with plans of deceit and conspiracy.

That night he begins to gather the scrolls and maps she will need to take with her.

* * *

Suki doesn't know how many days and nights after that visit he returns for her; in the dark underground, night blends into day and the days blend into each other, until there is no more orderly passage of time, no more days or hours, simply time continuing on without end. 

But he slips in, dressed in the garb of a lowly Fire Nation private, a worn red and gold bag slung over his shoulder. She studies him as he unlocks the door, the tumblers clicking, the hinges groaning as they ease open.

Zuko hands her the bag, silent: she'll read the notes inside later and know to find the Avatar. But for right now, there's no need to speak with her, no need for her to recognize him. If all goes well, no one but him will have any idea that he is passing Fire Nation intelligence and maps to the Avatar.

She takes it and looks up at him, eyes questioning, but Zuko grabs her by the arm and tugs her out of the cell block, down another staircase and into a dead end, decorated with nothing more than a single lantern. He seizes the lantern and after considerable effort turns it, making the wall slide aside.

Zuko pushes her through the opening and into the passage beyond, turning away, avoiding her eyes, to shut the door.

She watches him as the wall moves between them, the passage growing dark as it rumbles into place and settles.

"Thank you," she whispers, and then she's gone.

* * *

NOTE: So...definitely not so romantic, especially as the last one (I'll make the next one more emotional, promise), and I don't know how well it fits the prompt. It makes sense in my head, but to everyone saner than me, it may not. So...review, please? puppy dog eyes Pwease? (You can suggest stuff you might like to see in it if you'd like. I'll see if I can fit anything in).

-sugarland


	3. 35: Fade to Black

**35.**_Love is, in fact, everything it's cracked up to be. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more._

A warm summer breeze blows off the river, carrying with it the scents of lilies and jasmine, the sounds of crickets chirping and water gurgling merrily.

Suki sits on the riverbank, shoes thrown off and skirts hiked up to her thighs so that her feet and calves can dangle into the current. Behind her, she hears the crunch of boots on crisp grass and smiles.

Zuko settles into place beside her, folding his legs underneath him, resolutely away from the riverbank. "Having fun?" he asks, hiding his amusement at the sight of the self-proclaimed warrior kicking her feet in a stream.

Suki smiles, lays back against the cool grass. "Mmm. Yes, actually, I'm having a lot of fun." She shuts her eyes. "You should try it sometime."

"I can have fun," he mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his gaze from Suki to the river.

Suki suddenly vaults upward, landing on her knees with her skirts in a flurry around her. She kisses him, brief and heated, and Zuko turns back to her, closes his eyes and responds, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek.

Then Suki breaks the kiss, leaves him breathless, and heads directly into the river, until she's nearly at the center, and her skirts float up around her waist in the cool water.

"You want to have fun?" she asks, smiling wickedly. "Get over here."

* * *

This is the memory playing in his head as he lies on the threshold to the Fire Nation Imperial Palace. Kneeled at his side is Suki, cradling his head and grasping at one of his hands, almost desperately, trying to anchor him to the world.

"Stay still," she says quietly, stroking his hair. "Don't move. You'll just hurt yourself more."

Zuko shuts his eyes and sees it again, fast and flashing—Suki charging Azula, all the righteous light and fury of the world in her eyes—and Azula, drawing back, lightning sparking blue in his fingers and she crouches and begins to prepare to attack—Zuko thinking _spirits, Suki, you can't block that—_Suki still charging—and Zuko doing what he had to, pushing her out of the way, and from there on it's by rote: _down the arm, into the stomach, up into the shoulder_. The lightning arcs back out, flashing towards Azula, but she ducks just in time and it instead collides with a _crack _into the great marble pillar behind her, and it shakes and collapses on both of them.

At this point he blacked out. Woke up to find Suki over him, pulling him out of the rubble.

But now Zuko moans and clutches at his side, hands clenching and convulsing in pain.

"Oh Spirits," Suki whispers, "Oh Spirits no…"

Zuko falls in and out of consciousness from that point on; he dreams of home and fruitless quests, darkened corridors with no way out, and wakes to Suki's face, pained and quietly tearful each time.

* * *

After hours or maybe even days of this, he opens his eyes, to her sleeping form, next to the bed (where he is and how he got there, he doesn't know), and suddenly realizes this might be the last time he sees her. And so he studies her, sleeping quietly in the darkness, face peaceful for the first time since the battle, and fixes her image so strongly in his mind that Zuko knows he will not ever forget, that wherever he ends up next he will be able to think of her and touch her face in his mind, a tangible memory.

With this pleasant thought in mind Zuko sags back into the silken pillows and falls into another dream: this time he finds himself on a beach, Suki walking beside him, hand in his. He slips his hand out of hers and walks into the rolling waves, still feeling the print of her hand in his. The water rises up, begins to swirl around him, growing higher and higher, and he loses sight of her.

This is the end, though; as with most dreams, it fades to black before Zuko can see if he lives or dies.

* * *

_Well...sorry I haven't updated in a long time. Hope this was worth the wait? I'm a little...nervous on this one. I'm just praying they were IC, honestly. _

_-sugarland_


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